Man to serve 30 years for rape, indecency

Published 3:01 pm, Friday, May 27, 2011

A 385th District Court jury sentenced a 43-year-old Midland man to 30 years in prison Friday after finding him guilty of two counts of rape against a teenage female family member.

Manuel Javier Perez was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by sexual contact on Thursday. Jurors did not find Perez guilty of two additional counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one additional count of indecency with a child.

Jurors returned, after deliberating for 2 1/2 hours, with a sentence of 25 years for each of the two first-degree felonies of assault and a five-year sentence for the indecency charge. Judge Robin Darr chose to have both 25-year sentences run concurrently and the five-year sentence to run consecutive for a total prison time of 30 years.

Court staff said Perez must serve at least 15 years -- or half of that term -- before he is eligible for parole.

Defense attorney Steve Spurgin, of Marfa, said Perez has 15 children and there never has been a hint of impropriety.

"He's maintained his innocence from day one. We don't believe this happened," he told the Reporter-Telegram.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Stallings then told the jury to consider the offenses and consequences of Perez's character.

"I'm going to ask you to put him in jail for the rest of his life," he said. "When you go back there, think about the victims.

"This is the most egregious offense. He's given her a life sentence," he said pointing to the victim who was seated in the courtroom with her family.

Stallings told the court that the most horrible crime is to sexually assault and touch a child.

After the sentence was delivered, Stallings said he was satisfied with the verdict and the defendant had a fair trial.

"We had a good jury who combed over the evidence and made a good decision based on the facts that they had. Justice is definitely done here," he said. "Anytime you can take a sex offender out of circulation and not hurt any other children, we're happy and satisfied, and the victim's family is satisfied."

Spurgin said Perez's family wanted to thank the jury and judge and that they are grateful they did not find Perez guilty on three charges.

"We wish we could have presented additional evidence. The district attorney agreed with us that he's never been accused of anything like this," he said. "We wish we were able to fully develop and present to the jury why these were false charges, including the motive for these charges to be brought."